1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to the wrapping, packaging and palletizing of goods. More particularly, the present invention relates to an automated apparatus for wrapping goods in the nature of relatively large three-dimensional items in an envelope of protective packaging and for securing support members thereto.
2. Description of the Invention Background
The efficient and effective protection and transportation of both packaged and unpackaged goods has long been one of the more vexing problems facing manufacturers and shippers of those goods. In a variety of cases, enclosing the goods in a web of stretch wrap plastic and placing the goods on a wooden pallet has proven to be an effective method of protecting the goods during shipping and handling. In the current automated palletizing devices, the goods are place on a pallet and then the pallet and the goods are run through a wrapping apparatus wherein the pallet and goods are wrapped together within a single web of plastic. The web of plastic forms a moisture barrier around the goods, while the pallet provides for simplified transportation by way of a forklift or other material handling device.
However, current automated methods of stretch wrapping and palletizing do not work well for all types of materials. Thus, some types of materials require manual wrapping and palletizing. In addition to yielding inconsistent results, manual wrapping and palletizing of goods is generally time consuming and expensive. The cost, time and results often combine to eliminate manual wrapping and palletizing as an option for many producers of goods. In particular, sheet metal producers are relegated to stacking the bare sheet metal directly onto a pallet and then strapping the sheet metal to the pallet using a variety of metal bands. Clearly, such a method provides little protection to the product against damage and deterioration during shipping and storage. As a result, manufacturers of sheet metal and other products similarly not suited to wrapping and palletizing using existing automated wrapping and palletizing machinery require an alternative means of preparing their goods for transport that will provide a cost effective means of protecting their goods during shipping and handling.
However, simply modifying an existing automated wrapping and palletizing machine to accommodate stacks of sheet metal invites inefficiency. Existing methods of palletizing and wrapping suffer from several key inefficiencies. The utility of such packaging is lost after shipping and handling and it is typically discarded when the goods reach their ultimate destination. It is thus desirable that such protective wrapping be inexpensive and recyclable or easily disposable. In addition, the traditional pallet too, is normally disposed of or recycled and reused when the goods are ultimately used for their intended purpose. Therefore, it also desirable that both the pallet or platform and the plastic web be relatively inexpensive and recyclable or easily disposed of. Unfortunately, addressing the issues of cost and disposability generally requires a reduction in the overall strength and resiliency of the protection provided over extended periods of time.
In seeking to deal with these concerns, the existing art has embraced a palletizing method that includes placing the load or material to be shipped on a disposable wooden pallet and wrapping the load and pallet together in a single envelope of wrapping medium. Such wrapping medium normally includes a form of stretch-wrap plastic film, which is chemically inert, impervious to most liquids and highly adherent to the material around which it is wrapped. This method has proven to be effective in protecting the goods from any outside environmental damage and in facilitating the simplified transportation of the palletized load by a fork-lift or other material handing vehicle. However, this method has proven to be expensive and undesirable for use with numerous types of goods.
By their nature, wooden pallets harbour moisture and other impurities within the wood fibres from which they are composed. As such, when they are enclosed in the same impervious envelope of plastic wrap in which the goods are wrapped, the goods are necessarily exposed to this foreign material and moisture. If the goods are such that they are susceptible to corrosion and other degradation due to moisture and impurities contained in the wood, the protective effect of the wrapping layer is necessarily compromised. Thus, for goods comprising metallic materials in particular, such conventional methods of wrapping transport have proven unsuitable. In addition, the additional weight and cost of the pallet serves to add additional expense to the shipping process. Likewise, whether disposed of or stored for later use, pallets are expensive and bulky. Thus, even after the shipping process is complete, the pallet continues to add further expense to the shipping and handling process.
It is thus desirable to eliminate the pallet entirely without sacrificing protection to the load and thereby minimize packaging cost without sacrificing quality. A need thus exists for an automated apparatus and method of wrapping loads of material in a protective layer that is resilient to potentially damaging environmental factors, low in cost and easily removed for disposal. A need also exists for an automated apparatus and method that allows such an envelope of wrapping medium to be formed in conjunction with a pallet or other suitable platform that is of minimal cost.
None of the known automated wrappers and palletizers in the prior art provide an adequate solution to the forgoing problems. The subject invention is thus directed toward a wrapping apparatus and method which addresses, among others, the above-discussed needs and provides an apparatus and method for wrapping a large solid, item or a plurality of large solid items, in an envelope of protective packaging and for forming and securing a platform of minimal cost thereto, that is suitable for the handling and storage of loads of material for extended periods of time.